High Altitude Balloon

Abstract

A high altitude balloon comprised of three parts: a body and two end caps. The high altitude balloon includes a substantially cylindrical body formed with a single rectangular sheet of thin membrane material. The end caps can be made of the same thin membrane material, or they may be made from a different material. The end caps may have a substantially hemispherical (dished) shape or flat (disc) shape, though the end caps may have different shapes. Load restraints may be used on the inside or outside of the balloon body to form a plurality of lobes on the balloon body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This non-provisional application takes priority to provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 905,254, filed 17 Nov. 2013, provisional application Ser. No. 61 / 924,419, filed 7 Jan. 2014, and provisional application Ser. No. 62 / 015,288, filed 20 Jun. 2014. Wherein all of the above-referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.STATEMENTS AS TO THE RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK[0003]Not applicable.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]A high altitude balloon refers to manned and unmanned balloons that can be released at ground level and climb into the troposphere, stratosphere, and even the mesosphere. High altitude balloons are filled with a lifting gas or with air maintaining an internal temperature higher than its surrounding atmospheric air t...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The margin for error is very low in the assembly of these gored high altitude balloons.

Thus, the assembly of gored balloons requires countless manual labor hours, excessive material handling, specialized equipment, and years of domain expertise to correctly complete.

The membrane or film typically used for high altitude balloons is thin and delicate.

This makes most industrial sealers impractical for the thin membranes used for many high altitude balloons, especially if sealed in mass quantities and at high speeds.

The winding and unwinding on roll cores, pulling and twisting, carrier belt grabbing and transport, ambient machine temperature variations, and general abrasion of existing packaging and assembly lines can all cause existing balloon film quality to be compromised if run through continuous industrial systems.

These factors, among others, have made it difficult to use industrial sealers and automated lines to mass manufacture high altitude balloons.

Because of the above mentioned factors, the mass production of high altitude balloons is not practical with current approaches and state of the art.

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